Hamunaptra-the City of Love?
by fanwriter1245
Summary: I know this has been done before, but I wrote it anyway. Serena Gardner just wanted a job at the museum. But what she found was an adventure she never could've counted on. She meets three new people who form an unlikely bond with one another. And perhaps there's a special guy somewhere right under her nose. Or is he found in Hamunaptra? Rated K-plus for violence. ArdethXOC EvyXRick
1. Finding the Map

"I'm good at public speaking and I know lots and lots of history and I'm good with books and people, and…" Serena faltered when she saw that the curator, Dr. Bey, did not look amused. "Please," she pleaded. "I just really need this job. I can't find one anywhere else. No one will hire me."

The aged man looked her up and down and pulled his mouth into a tight line. "Well, I suppose there's a chance you can—"

He was cut off as a huge and long crash came from the library part of the museum. The curator ran off into the room and gasped. Serena followed and saw that nearly every shelf in the library had tipped over and books and papers covered the entire floor. There was a woman standing in the middle of it all, looking like she wanted the earth to swallow her up.

"What?" Dr. Bey sputtered. "How c—? I… How…? Sons of the pharaohs!" He surveyed the massive amount of damage and walked up to the woman. "Give me frogs, flies, locusts, anything but you! Compared to you, the other plagues were a joy!"

Serena stood behind them, awkwardly watching the heated discussion.

"I am so very sorry. It was an accident!" the woman said quietly with a thick English accent.

"My dear, when Ramses destroyed Syria, that was an accident. You are a catastrophe!" Dr. Bey certainly wasn't going easy on her. From the way this conversation was going, Serena assumed that problems like this happened a lot. "Look at my library!" he moaned. "Why do I put up with you?"

Serena was pretty sure the curator wasn't looking for an answer, but the woman decided to give him one anyway. "Well, you put up with me because I can read and write ancient Egyptian and I can decipher hieroglyphics and Hieratic and well, Iam the only person within a 1000 miles who can properly code and catalogue this library, that's why!" she finished angrily.

"I put up with you because your mother and father were our finest patrons! That's why!"

Oh, that one had to hurt! The woman immediately silenced.

"Allah rest their souls," he added in a softer tone. "You!" he then yelled to Serena. "You said you wanted a job? You got one! Help Ms. Carnahan fix her mess!" Serena walked over to the poor woman. "I don't care what you do, I don't care how long it takes, straighten up this _meshiver_!"

He turned furiously and stormed out of the library. The woman let out a big, long sigh. "I'm terribly sorry you had to see that," the woman apologized. "My name is Evelyn Carnahan, but mostly everyone calls me Evy."

"I'm Serena Gardner. And no worries. To be honest, I think I just got a job here because of this."

Evy gave a small smile. Suddenly, there was a small clatter coming from the back room.

"What was that?" she asked.

The two girls slowly crept to the back room, determining not to show fear. Evy took hold of a torch hanging from the wall. "Hello?" she called out. "Abdul? Mohammad? Bob?"

Serena assumed those were the names of other people who worked in the museum. The girls went over to a coffin a thud had come from when suddenly, the decomposed mummy inside sprang up. The girls screamed and clutched onto each other when the sound of laughing could be heard. A man sat up from inside the coffin.

"Have you no respect for the dead?" Evy scolded.

"Of course, I do, but sometimes, I'd rather like to join them!" the man slurred. It was obvious to Serena that he was a tad on the tipsy side.

"Well I wish you'd do it sooner rather than later before you ruin my career the way you've ruined yours! Now get out!" she said as she helped him out of the coffin.

"My dear sweet baby sister!" the man laughed as he clumsily climbed out of the coffin. "I'll have you know that at this precise moment, my career is on a high note!"

"High note, HAH!" Evy replied. "Oh, Jonathon, please. I'm really not in the mood for you. I've just made a bit of a mess in the library and the Bembridge scholars have rejected my application form again. They say I don't have enough experience in the field."

Serena knew that Bembridge was a tough school and she didn't know Evy well enough to know if the scholars' decision was a good one or not.

"You'll always have me, old mum," Jonathon said as he pressed his forehead against hers. Even though it seemed that Jonathon was a hard brother to handle, Serena had to give it to him that they really cared about each other.

"Oh, Jonathon," Evy said. "This is Serena Gardner. She just got a job here a few minutes ago."

"Nice to meet you, love," Jonathon said, taking her hand.

"The pleasure's all mine."

"I've got just the thing to cheer you up, Evy!" He began to rummage through the coffin, looking for whatever it was he needed.

"Oh, no, Jonathon!" Evy exclaimed. "Not another worthless trinket! If I have to take one more piece of junk to the curator to try and—" Evy immediately stopped talking as Jonathon held a little box in front of her face. "…sell for you. Where did you get this?"

"On a dig down in Thebes," he answered. "My whole life I've never found anything. Evy, please tell me I've found something."

Evy pushed a button on the small box and it popped open to form a star-like shape. There was a tiny piece of paper hidden within it. "Jonathon," she gasped as Serena tenderly took the paper from the box. "I think you've found something."

Evy took the box from her and carefully opened it. "Oh, my gosh. It's—It's a map." She looked at it more closely. "Is that…? It can't be…"

"What is it?" Serena asked.

"I need to take this to the Dr. Bey!" She hopped up and walked briskly to the curator's office, not bothering to knock on the door. "Sir! You need to see what we've found!" She placed the map on his desk and began explaining. "You see that cartouche there? It's the official royal seal of Seti the first, I'm sure of it!"

"Perhaps," he said skeptically.

"Okay, two questions," Jonathon said. "Who was Seti I and was he rich?"

"He was the second pharaoh in the 19th dynasty, said to be the wealthiest pharaoh of them all," Serena told him.

"Good, that's good! I like this fellow! I like him very much!"

Serena rolled her eyes. She hadn't known Jonathon for very long, but she could already tell he loved two things more than anything else: drinks and money, and lots of it.

"I've already dated the map," Evy continued. "It's almost 3000 years old and if you look at the Hieratic just there, well, it's Hamunaptra."

Serena froze. That was impossible! Hamunaptra was just a myth. Wasn't it? Even so, it would be so wonderful to actually find that city!

"Don't be ridiculous," Dr. Bey scolded. "We're scholars, not treasure hunters! Hamunaptra is a myth, told by ancient Arab storytellers to amuse Greek and Roman tourists!"

"Yes, I know all the silly blather about the city being protected by the curse of a mummy nonsense, but my research has led me to believe that city itself may have actually existed."

"You can't be serious," Serena remarked.

"Are we talking about THE Hamunaptra?" Jonathon asked.

"Yes," Evy said with a glimmer in her eye. "The city of the dead where the earliest pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt."

"Yes, in a big underground treasure chamber, everyone knows the story!"

"Sorry, I'm afraid I don't know that story. I'm new in town," Serena said.

"I thought you said you knew lots of history," Dr. Bey said, eyeing her.

"Forgive me, sir, but I learned about facts in history, not myths." She threw Evy a small wink when he wasn't looking.

"The entire necropolis was rigged to sink into the sand at Pharaoh's command at the flick of a switch and the whole place would disappear beneath the sand dunes, taking the treasure with it," Jonathon explained.

"Wow. And let me guess. You want to get your hands on that treasure more than anything."

Evy gave a small smile as Jonathon looked at her with fake offense in his eyes.

"As the Americans would say, it's all fairytales and hokum. Oh my goodness! Look at that!"

Serena looked at the piece of paper that was going up in flames and dissolving more by the second! The three went about using their hands to try and put out the fire before the paper was completely gone and unreadable. Once the fire was out, they surveyed the damage.

"You've burnt it! You've burnt off the part of the lost city!" Jonathon said in dejection.

"It's for the best, I'm sure," Dr. Bey said without sympathy.

"You did that on purpose," Serena spat.

He looked at her. "Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra. No one has ever found it. Most have never returned."

"I'm sorry," Evy said. "Did you say most?"

"Yes, and that is all I'm going to say. Now you three need to drop this treasure search and face the world of today. And today, I'm telling you to fix up the mess in the library!"

"Where is this man?" Serena asked.

"In prison. So don't think you're going to get him to help you."


	2. Rick O'Connell

"Come, come, step over the threshold and welcome to Cairo prison, my humble home!"

Serena couldn't believe it. Here they were in Cairo's prison led by a large smelly man who desperately needed some exercise and a two-day bathing in order to find a man who may or may not know the way to a city that wasn't supposed to exist. And this morning, all she had wanted was a job…

"You told me you got it on a dig down in Thebes!" Evy whispered angrily to Jonathon.

"Well, I was mistaken," he answered.

"You lied to me!"

"I lie to everybody! What makes you so special?"

"I'm your sister!"

"That just makes you all the more gullible!"

"Jonathon, you got it from a drunk at the local casbah."

"Picked his pockets actually, so I don't think this is a very good idea!"

"Jonathon," Serena said. "You seriously picked a drunken man's pockets?"

"Oh, so now you're siding with her?"

Serena shrugged her shoulders. "That wasn't very smart," she added.

"I'm finding that out."

The warden finally led them to a cell as Evy asked, "What exactly is this man in prison for?"

"This I do not know," the warden answered with an Arabic accent. "But when I heard you were coming, I asked him that myself."

"What did he say?"

"He said he was just looking for a good time!"

The warden flicked his wrist and the door banged open. Who, or what, stood there left Serena speechless. He was an animal of a man. Long scraggly hair, tattered clothes, unshaven face, the whole works. And he was fierce. He had huge muscles that bulged on his arms and a buff chest as well. If Jonathon had been able to steal from him, he must've been very, very, very drunk! Serena made a small face at the stench of him and did a terrible job of hiding it.

"This is the man you stole it from?" Evy asked.

"Yes, exactly, so why don't we just go sniff out a spot of tiffin…?"

"Who are you?" the man asked roughly in a scratchy voice. "And who's the broads?"

"Broads?" Evy asked clearly offended.

"I'm just the local sort of missionary," Jonathon answered trying to hide the fact that he was a no-good stealer, "spreading the Good Word and all that and this is my sister Evy."

"How do you do?"

"And our mate, Serena Gardner."

"Hello, sir."

"Well, I guess they're not a total loss."

"Excuse me?" Serena said. "You're one to talk. You're in prison!"

The man looked at her with small annoyance, like he was used to getting that kind of talk. The warden shouted something and then told them he'd be back in a moment. The three were alone with the weird man.

"Ask him about the box," Jonathon whispered to Evy.

"We've found…hello? Excuse me." The man looked at her with that same annoyance. "We found your…your puzzle box, and we've come to ask you about it."

"No," the man said blatantly.

"No?"

"No. You came to ask me about Hamunaptra."

"How do you know the box pertains to Hamunaptra?"

"Because that's where I was when I found it. I was there."

"That's impossible. Hamunaptra doesn't exist," Serena said.

"Wanna bet?"

"Um, no, I'd rather not, but that place is just a myth. You couldn't have been there."

"Okay, let's see. Who was there? Me. Who was not there? You. Case closed, end of story."

"How do we know that's not a load of pig's wallow?" Jonathon asked.

"Don't I know you?" the man said pointing at him.

Uh-oh. "No, no, no, I've just got one of those faces."

The man's eyes widened as he realized who Jonathon was and he got socked right in the face. This was followed by the man getting a beating from the guards.

"Jonathon!" Serena cried. She ran over to his still body and lightly slapped his face. "Wake up!"

Evy went over to the cell. "You were actually at Hamunaptra?"

"Yeah, I was there."

Jonathon slowly came to, so Serena went over to the cell as well. "Are you sure?"

"I was there. Seti's place, city of the dead."

"Could you tell me how to get there?" Evy took off her hat and placed it on the side of her face to keep this conversation as secret as possible. "I mean, the exact location?"

"We'd really like to see this place for ourselves."

"You want to know?" he asked.

"Well, yes."

"You really want to know?"

"Yes!" Serena said quietly. "We've just established that!"

The man beckoned the two closer to him. Then without warning, he grabbed Evy's chin and threw his lips onto hers in a rough kiss. Serena's mouth popped open. That had not been what she was expecting!

"Then get me out of here!" he growled as he punched a guard. "Do it, ladies!"

Evy remained stunned and Serena didn't blame her. The warden came running back to see the commotion.

"Where are they taking him?" Evy asked urgently.

"To be hanged," he said matter-of-factly. "Apparently, he had a very good time!"

"You can't kill him! You don't even know what he's done!" Serena shouted.

"I am the warden, not the judge. I may not know, but he's in here for a reason, and I'm sure it's a good one too!"

"But he—"

Evy gently grabbed Serena's arm. "You're not getting anywhere." She addressed the warden, "May we accompany you?"

He eyed them up and down. "Of course," he said in a seductful tone.

Serena felt her breakfast rise up in her throat but managed to keep it down. After all, this was no time to start puking! Some guards helped Jonathon up off the ground and led him out of the prison. Serena followed Evy and the warden to the gallows.

They sat in a seat while the tied up prisoner was standing on the platform where the floor would soon drop and his life would be taken…unless Evy could do something first.

"I will give you £100 to save this man's life," she said quickly.

"Madam, I would pay £100 just to see him hang."

"200! Two hundred pounds!"

"Proceed!"

"300 pounds!"

Serena saw the hangman say something to the man, and the man said something back, but she couldn't make out what it was. He shouted something up to the warden in a different language. The warden shouted something back in the same language, then in English. "Of course we don't let him go!"

"£500!" Evelyn shouted.

The warden motioned for the hangman to stop.

"Evy, do you even have that much money?" Serena whispered.

"We'll deal with that problem when we get there."

"And what else?" the warden asked as he put his hand on her leg. "I'm a very lonely man." Evy hit his hand with her bag and Serena whacked him on the arm. That was just gross. The prisoners who had gathered to watch the hanging began laughing, having witnessed the warden's failure.

In anger, the warden gave the signal to drop the floor.

"NO!" Evy and Serena screamed. The floor dropped from under the man and Serena knew it was over. She closed her eyes and turned away, not wanting to see the body. There was no way they were getting to Hamunaptra now.

The warden laughed. "His neck did not break!" Serena looked and saw that the man was still very much alive!

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Now we must watch him strangle to death!"

"He knows the location to Hamunaptra!" Evy blurted.

"Evy…" Serena said. Evy shot her a look.

"You lie!"

"I would never!"

"Are you telling me this filthy, son of a pig knows where to find the City of the Dead?!"

"Yes!"

The girls watched the man struggle for breath as his neck was hanging to one side and he started to go purple.

"Truly?"

"Yes!" Evy told the warden in desperation. "And if you cut him down, we will give you…10%!"

The warden looked at her. "50%!" he argued. Well, someone was a little greedy…

"20%!" Evy countered. Serena smiled. There was no way they were going to let him take so much.

"40!" the warden said.

"30!"

"25!"

"Ah!" Evy exclaimed, catching him before he could go further. "Deal!"

The warden paused and whined when he realized his mistake. "Cut him down!" The hangman sliced the rope and the man fell to the ground.

"How did you do that?" Serena asked.

"It's an old trick I used to play on Jonathon all the time," Evy smiled.

The man looked up at the two, and Evy gave a suave smile back at him. "I knew you could do it," the man said with his eyes.

"I'd like to talk to him now," Evy asked the warden.

"Follow me," he answered with sheer annoyance in his tone. He obviously did not get swindled often.

The warden led the girls to the man's cell where he would be taken back to until the proper procedures could be taken in order for him to leave. He came up to the bars, but he wasn't handcuffed or escorted by guards.

"Hello, sir," Evy said. The man just looked at her. "Um, I would like you to take us to Hamunaptra."

"And what makes you think I'm going to do that?"

"Well, I did just save your life."

"And now you think I owe you?"

"You said if I got you out of here, you would show us the way." She stared him down.

"Fine, I'll take you. There's a ship going out tomorrow. Be at the harbor at 1:00 sharp. Otherwise, the deal's off."

"May I have your name, sir?"

"Rick. Rick O'Connell."


	3. Boat Attack

Bags in hand, the three walked towards the harbor.

"Do you really think he's going to show up?" Evy asked.

"Yes, undoubtedly, knowing my luck," Jonathon replied. "He may be a cowboy, but I know the breed. He's as good as his words."

Serena absent-mindedly looked behind her for no apparent reason, she just did that when she walked places. She saw a man who looked like he was walking toward them, but he couldn't be because he didn't know them. She ended up doing a double take when she realized that the man was Rick O'Connell!

"Evy," she said quietly, tapping her on the arm.

Evy ignored her. "Well, personally, I think he's filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel."

"Evy…"

"I don't like him one bit!"

"Anyone I know?" Rick said as he came up behind them.

Evy turned around and her eyes went wide. She didn't blame her. Rick had gone through a massive transformation! His hair was cut and neat, he had good clean clothes on, he was clean-shaven, and it was like he was a whole new person!

"Oh, um…" Evy stuttered, clearly embarrassed he had overheard their conversation. That was exactly what Serena had tried to avoid. "Hello."

"Smashing day for the start of adventure, eh, O'Connell?" Jonathon said, breaking the awkwardness.

"Yes, smashing," he answered wryly as he checked his pockets for his wallet.

"Oh, I'd never steal off a partner, partner!"

"Oh, that reminds me, no hard feelings about the, uh…" O'Connell motioned a small punch, obviously referring to when he had socked him in the face yesterday.

"Oh, no, no, happens all the time!" Serena eyed him, not wanting to believe that, but finding it hard not to.

"Good afternoon, Mr. O'Connell," Serena said.

"Ms. Gardner."

"Nice to see you are well."

"You mean nice to see that I don't look like I was raised in the jungle?" Serena struggled to find words at that comment. "No worries. Thanks."

"Mr. O'Connell," Evy told him, "can you look me in the eyes and guarantee me that this isn't some kind of a flim-flam? Because if it is, I am warning you…"

"You're warning me?" Rick said in disbelief. "Lady, let me put it this way. My whole garrison believed in this so much, that without orders, they marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city, and when we got there all we found was sand and blood." The three looked at him incredulously. "Let me get your bags," he added in a much lighter tone. They stared at him as he boarded the ship.

"Who else is rethinking this whole trip?" Serena said. All three of them raised their hands.

"Bright, good morning to all!" a sadly familiar voice called out. They turned and saw the warden coming to board the ship.

"Oh, no, what are you doing here?" Evy moaned.

"I am here to protect my investment, thank you very much!"

Serena and Evy heaved a huge sigh and boarded the ship, not realizing what they were getting themselves into.

After everyone was settled into the ship, they relaxed outside on a beautiful full moon night.

"Quit playing with your glasses and cut the deck, would ya Burns?" Serena heard. She walked toward the voice and saw a group of several Americans and Jonathon sitting down to play a game of poker.

"Hello, love!" Jonathon called. "Fancy a game?"

"Sorry, but I'm not much of a card player. I'm not sure I even know what all the symbols are called."

At that moment, Rick came around carrying a huge sack.

"O'Connell!" one of the Americans with the blonde hair yelled. "Sit down, we could use another player, since the girl apparently doesn't know her cards."

"Excuse me?" Serena asked angrily.

"Aw, I'm just kidding with ya, doll!" Serena rolled her eyes. Typical Americans.

"I only gamble with my life, never my money."

"Um," Serena interjected awkwardly. "I'm just going to go hit the sack. You guys enjoy your…game." She quickly turned and took the nearest way out and found Evy reading at a table.

"Hey, Evy."

"Hello. Are you alright?"

"Honestly, I can't say I'm fond of these passengers we've got on here," she answered as she sat down diagonally from her.

"I understand. They can be a bit, well, rambunctious."

Suddenly, a bag slammed down on the table, startling them both. Rick smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you two."

Evy looked at him. "The only thing that scares me, Mr. O'Connell, are your manners."

"Still angry about that kiss, huh?"

"If you can call that a kiss."

Serena giggled and looked at Rick. "It certainly wasn't something I'd call memorable."

Rick took his bag and rolled it open, revealing all sorts of guns, knives, and other weapons.

"Um," Evy said, "did I miss something? Are we going into battle?"

"Lady, there's something out there. Something underneath that sand."

Silence fell over the table as Rick sat down on the opposite side of Evy. Serena couldn't help but wonder what Hamunaptra was like and if it was really as bad as Rick made it sound. She knew the legend, but wasn't that just what it was? A legend?

"Yes well, I'm hoping to find a certain artifact. A book actually."

"You're going all the way out here for a book?" Serena asked.

"It's not just any book, Serena. My brother thinks there's treasure. What do you think is out there, Mr. O'Connell?"

"In a word? Evil."

"Evil?" Serena said.

"She asked. And when you get there, you'll come to the same conclusion too.

"I don't think so, sir."

"The Bedouin and the Tuaregs believe that Hamunaptra is cursed."

"Look," Evy said. "I don't believe in fairy tales and hokum, Mr. O'Connell, but I do believe that one of the most famous books in history is buried out there. The Book of Amun-ra. It contains within it all the secret incantations of the old kingdom. That's what first interested me in Egypt when I was a child. It's why I came here, a sort of life's pursuit."

"And the fact that they say it's made out of pure gold makes no never mind to you, right?"

"You and Jonathon!" Serena huffed. "Not everyone cares about gold! Sometimes certain things, like this book, are better than gold."

"Even still," Evy said. "You do know your history!"

"I know my treasure."

Evy paused. "Um, by the way, why did you kiss me?"

Rick laughed. "I was about to be hanged! It seemed like a good idea at the time!"

Evy let a huge huff and stormed off. "Seriously?" Serena cried as she ran after her.

"What? What'd I say?" she heard him ask.

Evy stood by the camels in the pen on the ship, arms crossed angrily. "What a…a…American!" she huffed.

Serena couldn't help but giggle at the remark. "He just got out of prison. What do you expect?"

"How could a kiss like that mean nothing to him?"

"…You like him, don't you?"

"Of course not, I just met him."

"And got pretty intimate in those first few minutes."

"That was not by choice." She started stroking one of the camel's heads in a gentle manner. "Guys don't usually like girls like me anyway."

"Come on, you must be joking."

"No one has ever shown the slightest interest in me my whole life. I'm clumsy and a bookworm."

"Evy, look, I may not have known you or Mr. O'Connell for very long at all, but…"

"Who is that man?" They looked over to where they had left Rick and he was standing with a man who looked like a skinny version of the warden. He had a fez and needed some major brushing and flossing and a long shower. Rick looked in their direction and he and Evy made eye contact for a brief second before she rushed off with Serena tagging along behind her.

Evy and Serena were sharing a room due to limited space. Serena went to a different room to change into her night clothes. When she stepped back into the room, a man in dark robes was holding Evy with a hook pressed against her throat. She froze in her tracks.

"Serena, run!" Evy screamed. Serena tried to get out the door, but another man stopped her and asked for a key.

"What key?" Serena trembled.

"EVEYLN! SERENA!" she heard Rick shout as he burst into the room. The two men held the girls even tighter, daring Rick to save them. He fired bullets at the man holding Serena and caused a lantern to fall, setting the room ablaze. Evy grabbed a candle and jammed it into the hook-man's eye. He screamed in pain and released his firm hold on her. Rick grabbed her and ran out of the room with Serena in front of him.

"The map!" Evy cried. "I forgot the map!" Rick grabbed one arm while Serena grabbed the other.

"You don't have time to get the map, Evy!"

"Relax," Rick said calmly. "I'm the map. It's all up here."

"Oh, that's comforting!" Evy groaned.

Gunshots rang out all throughout the ship and people jumped overboard as the fire raged on. O'Connell roughly grabbed Serena's arm and threw her behind him as he peeked around a corner she almost went around, and would've gotten shot had she done so. Bullets zinged by O'Connell's face as he threw his huge sack of weapons to Evy, who grabbed it, sinking a bit under its weight. O'Connell started loading a gun, and Serena noticed bullets flying through the wall getting closer and closer to his head. At the last second, Evy pulled him to the side and he missed the last bullet. O'Connell ran with the two girls to the side of the ship, all the while firing bullets at the strange hooded men, as the fire blazed on and continued to spread.

"Can you swim?" he called to Evy.

"Well, of course I can swim if the occasion calls for it!" she shouted back.

"Trust me, it calls for it!" He picked her up and flung her over the side as she made a splash below. He turned to Serena.

She looked at him sheepishly and mustered out, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't swim."

"Alright! Minor setback!" He grabbed his bag and prepared to jump over the side when another man stopped him from doing so. The man punched and kicked O'Connell up against a pole, then proceeded to choke him. O'Connell pushed the man's arms down with his own, head butted him and kicked him into the fire. The warden ran up to O'Connell as he examined his work. "O'Connell! O'Connell! What are we going to do? What are we going to do?"

"Wait here! I'll go get help!" With that, he jumped over the edge of the ship. The warden waited anxiously while Serena went to the edge and looked over, not knowing what she should do. She saw O'Connell pop out of the water.

"Jump, Serena!" he shouted.

"I can't!" she shouted back.

"I promise I'll keep you safe."

Serena took a deep breath and jumped over the edge. Water engulfed her senses and her breath was stolen from her. She tried to fight her way up, but couldn't. Suddenly, she felt a strong arm on her waist and was pulled up. She choked out water and gasped for breath.

"It's okay!" Rick yelled amongst the commotion. "I've got you!" Serena saw the warden jump in evidently realizing O'Connell was not coming back. Jonathon followed as did all of the Americans. Rick swam to shore with Serena latched onto him. Finally, Rick, Serena, Jonathon, and Evy made it to one side of the river while everyone else was on the other side.

"We've lost everything!" Evy cried as she walked onto land. "All our tools, all the equipment, all my clothes!"

"Just be thankful you're alive!" Serena answered, even though she was upset at losing all of her possessions as well.

"Hey, O'Connell!" the man with the fez shouted from the other side. "It looks to me like I've got all the horses!"

"Hey, Beni! It looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!" O'Connell shouted back. The man looked around him and started kicking the water and screaming. Despite all of the events that had just had happened, Serena had to smile.


	4. Finding the Mummy

"I am so glad to get out of those nightclothes!" Evy said to Serena in the tent. The group had arrived in a small village in the desert, dirty, some in nightclothes, and all completely worn out. Everyone had taken them in immediately and given them a place to rest and now Serena and Evy were getting new clothes since they didn't have any anymore.

"I'm just glad we're finally clean!" Serena laughed.

The women in the tent finished dressing them up and escorted them out. They were now wearing beautiful black dresses with small hoods to shield them from the sun and thin veils across the lower half of their face. It was the prettiest both girls had felt in a long time. They approached O'Connell and Jonathon who had just bought them all camels to ride the rest of the way to Hamunaptra. Evy and Rick looked at each other shyly. Serena smiled at their glance, knowing exactly what was going on. Rick walked off with the camels as the group prepared for their travels.

"What were you saying about guys not showing interest in you?" Serena said in Evy's ear.

"Oh, stop it," she answered, playfully slapping her shoulder.

They rode on the camels for hours on end, going into the night. Serena found it impossible to sleep while riding a camel and having the warden snoring in her ear, but couldn't keep her eyes open either.

Not getting any real sleep, the sun began to beat down on them as it rose up into the sky. Before long, everyone was as awake as they could be when they ran into their little Americans friends they had abandoned on the other side of the river after the shipwreck.

"Good morning, my friend!" Beni said to them.

Serena saw that O'Connell refused to answer, and it was evident the two were not really friends.

"What are we doing?" the American called Daniels asked.

"Patience, my good barat'm, patience."

One of the Americans, Henderson, the one who had called her 'doll' and insulted her on the ship, reminded O'Connell about some bet they had made on the ship about getting to Hamunaptra first.

"Get ready for it," Rick said quietly.

"Ready for what?" Evy asked.

"We're about to be shown the way."

Serena watched as the sun rose higher into the sky and revealed the ancient city beyond. It was incredible.

"Will you look at that?"

"Can you believe it?"

"Hamunaptra," a chorus of American voices rang out.

"Here we go again," Rick mumbled.

"Mr. O'Connell," Serena said. "Is this real? Am I still dreaming?"

"Believe it, lady. There's the City of the Dead."

Almost as if a starter pistol had gone off, the entire group ran on camels and horses trying to be the first one into the city.

Serena watched as Beni kept hitting O'Connell with his crop in order to slow him down. In anger, O'Connell threw him off his camel.

"Serves you right!" Evy yelled to him.

Serena laughed hard at Evy's cheekiness. "WHOO!" she screamed.

"Hut, hut, hut! Teek, teek, teek!" Evy yelled to her camel. Rick looked at her and gave her the most awkward smile Serena had ever seen from someone. Evy's camel suddenly took off faster than everyone's.

"GO, EVY! GO!" Jonathon screamed.

She was the first one into the city with Rick following behind her, as Serena and Jonathon came up behind the Americans.

As everyone prepared to search the city for treasure, or books, Serena approached Henderson. "I believe you owe someone some money."

"Oh, hey, doll," he said flirtatiously. "Don't worry, O'Connell will get his money soon enough. What are you doing in a place like this?"

"Just coming with my friends."

"You coming to a place like this just because?"

"Well, I may know a thing or two about Hamunaptra and its history. I had to be convinced that it wasn't just a myth."

"You're welcome to tag along with us. We're searching for the treasure of the pharaohs!"

"Thanks, but I'll think I'll stick with Evy and Rick and Jonathon. After all, I actually know them, and I don't have much interest in finding this treasure."

"What? You don't want any gold, doll?"

"Call me doll again, and I'll sneak into your tent at night with a gun and shoot you on the spot."

She whipped around and walked towards her couple as she was aware of Henderson's admiring looks towards her. Sorry, but he was not her type. She walked up to _her _group just in time to see Rick hand Evy something.

"Here this is for you," he stammered. "Er, it's something I borrowed off our American brethren. I thought you might like it… You might need it when you're…" He turned to find the warden watching their conversation. "What are you looking at?" he snapped.

Evy opened the case O'Connell had given her and found all sorts of tools that would aid her when she was searching and digging. There were tools she didn't even know how to use, but she had always wanted them. A huge grin broke across her face.

"Well, well, well," Serena said. "Looks like he's not a…how did you say…'filthy, rude, complete scoundrel' after all."

"Serena, stop it. There's nothing between me and Mr. O'Connell. Just like how there's nothing between you and the Henderson fellow."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I saw you talking to him, and I saw the way he was looking at you. Looks like I'm not the only one with an admirer."

Serena groaned at the thought of Henderson liking her. Sure, she had always wanted a guy to like her, but why did it have to be him?

Rick began to climb down a rope as Evy followed him, then came Serena, Jonathon, and unfortunately, the warden. The room was bare and dusty and didn't smell so good. Evy turned the mirrors in the room in a special way and it lit up the room. Apparently, they were in a preparation room where they made the mummies thousands of years ago. Despite, the creepiness of it all, Serena was fascinated by this room. In reality, it was something she had always studied, but never seen. Now, here she was.

The group started to walk into a tunnel to search for the Statue of Anubis where they would find the Book of the Dead. Suddenly, there was a loud skittering above them, which was enough to freak the warden out immensely. He really did not like bugs.

They finally reached the statue when they heard a sound. O'Connell backed them all up against the statue and he and Jonathon pulled out their guns. They swept around the side of the statue and came face-to-face with the American team.

"You scared the heck out of us, O'Connell!" Henderson said.

"Likewise," he answered. The man called Burns noticed what Evy was holding and began to walk to her.

"Hey, that's my tool kit!" Rick's gun went in his face. "Okay, perhaps I was mistaken."

"Well, have a nice day, gentlemen!" Evy said, attempting to get them to search elsewhere. "We have a lot of work to be getting along with."

Another man in a fez like Beni's said, "Push off. This is our dig site."

"We got here first!" Evy said angrily.

"So why don't you run along?" Serena added.

"This here's our statue, friend," Daniels said.

"I don't see your name written on it, pal," Rick answered curtly.

Serena saw Evy move her foot and knocked a few pebbles down a crack in the ground. It took a while for them to make a sound when they hit the ground. The two women made eye contact as they realized that there was another room below them, so they could still access the statue!

"Oh for goodness sake, let's be nice, children!" Evy said to break up the upcoming fight. "If we're going to play together, we must learn to share!" She lightly touched Rick's arm. "There are other places to dig."

Rick lowered his gun and followed Evy as she left the room to find the one below.

"Hey, sweetheart," Henderson said to Serena as she walked by. "You sure you don't want to stay and help us score some treasure?"

"You can't be serious. You come in here, guns pointed at me and my friends, take over our dig site, and you just expect me to want to stay with you?"

Henderson looked awkwardly at his feet. Serena followed the rest of her group as she heard Henderson let out a big sigh.

"According to these hieroglyphics, we're underneath the statue. We should come up right between his legs," Evy said as Rick dug a hole through the ceiling.

"When those awful Yanks go to sleep—no offense," Jonathon said to O'Connell, ("None taken," he answered), "we'll dig our way up and steal that book right out from under them.

"Are you sure we can find this secret compartment?" Rick asked.

"Yes, if those beastly Americans haven't beaten us to it—no offense."

"None taken."

"They really have caused us a lot of trouble, haven't they?" Serena said.

"All they care about is finding the treasure," Evy said. "Greed can make you do a lot of things."

"Hey, where did our smelly friend get to?" Jonathon asked. They all looked around as they noticed that the warden was not with them. He must've gotten lost somewhere along the way and decided to look on his own.

After a while of digging, Rick needed to take a small break from lifting his arms for so long, so Evy took the opportunity to explain mummification, a topic everyone was not too keen on hearing.

Just when Rick was requesting that he not be mummified, Jonathon hit a rock which caused a huge sarcophagus to fall from the ceiling above them, surprising them all.

"It's a sarcophagus," Evy breathed. "Buried at the base of Anubis. He must've been someone of great importance. Or he did something very naughty."

"Well, who is it?" Jonathon asked.

"'He-who-must-not-be-named,'" Evy read as she translated the words on the case.

"Whatever he did must've been very serious if they don't even want to say his name," Serena remarked.

O'Connell blew away some dust and fingered an imprint in the sarcophagus. "This looks like some sort of lock."

Evy quickly put together that the object that the man on the boat was looking for was the key they would need. Before she could test it out, they all jumped at the sound of someone screaming and ran into the hall. They saw the warden screaming bloody murder and holding his head in obvious pain. They had no idea what was happening to him and had no time to put it together before he ran straight into the wall, instantly killing himself to end the pain. Evy put her hand over her mouth in surprise while Serena took hold of her other hand. This was the first time she had ever seen someone actually die right in front of her, and she never wanted it to happen again. It was going to take a very long time for the image to be erased from her mind.


	5. Opening the Coffin

Serena sat at the campfire, silent, still traumatized by the image she had seen in the tomb.

"What do you suppose killed him?" Evy said.

"Did you see him eat?" Jonathon laughed.

"He ran into a wall," Serena said. "That's what killed him."

"Yes, but I think something was happening to him that made him do such a thing. Did you see the way he was holding his head? It's almost like there was something inside of him."

Rick walked over to the others sitting by the fire. "Seems our American friends had a little misfortune of their own today. Seems that 3 of their diggers were melted."

"What?" Evy whispered.

"How?" Jonathon asked.

"Salt acid. Pressurized salt acid. Some kind of ancient booby trap."

"I remember reading about that in one of my studies," Serena said. "I guess I never really imagined it happening to someone."

"Maybe this place really is cursed," Jonathon remarked. Suddenly, a wind blew through the camp and made the fire dimmer.

Evy looked at everyone. "Oh, for goodness sake, you three!" she yelled.

"You don't believe in curses?" Rick asked.

"No, I don't! I believe if I can see it and I can touch it then it's real. That's what I believe."

"I'm not sure I believe in curses either," Serena added. "I mean, things like that are only part of myths. Although, all this bad stuff happening to all of us does seem a bit unexplainable."

"I believe in being prepared," Rick said as he cocked his gun.

Jonathon ended up searching through the warden's bag and found a bottle filled with some kind of good drink. He started drinking from the bottle when they heard the sound of horses. Suddenly, men in black robes attacked the camp and started shooting everything in sight.

"Serena!" Evy called as they grabbed hands. Rick handed Evy a rifle and ran off. They girls started running to help him or at least ward off the invaders. There were so many of them and Serena and Evy got separated.

"EVY!" she called looking for her friend. "RICK! JONATHON!" A man with a knife ran up to her and held her arms behind her, preparing to slit her throat. Henderson managed to tackle him and stop him before he did so. He helped her up off the ground and they turned as they heard someone yell, "Enough! Yallah!" She saw Rick had lit a stick of dynamite and a man facing him was apparently the hooded people's leader. There were tattoos on his both cheeks, representing something.

"We will shed no more blood!" he shouted. "But you must leave! Leave this place or die! You have one day! Yallah! Nimishi!"

Serena watched as the man galloped off. There was something about him. In all honesty, he was really attractive. "Hey, are you alright?" she heard Rick say. She turned and saw him helping Evy off the ground. Serena went to help her up as well.

"That proves it!" Daniels exclaimed. "Old Seti's fortune has gotta be under the sand!"

"For them to protect it like that, you know there's treasure down there," Henderson added.

"No," Rick said. "These men are desert people. They value water, not gold."

Burns walked up to him with shaving cream over half of his face. "You know, maybe just at night, we could, uh, combine forces."

Henderson walked up to Serena. "Are you alright? That man didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, for saving me."

"No problem, doll! Piece of cake."

"What did I tell you about calling me 'doll'?"

"Sorry!" he laughed. "Would you prefer 'darlin'' instead?"

Serena playfully hit him and gave him a real smile. She had to admit, he was nice enough to her. But he really wasn't her type. Right?

After a couple hours, when the rest of the camp was asleep, Rick started teaching Evy how to fight because of their little run-in with the desert people. But it soon became increasingly clear that she was very, very drunk. Serena hadn't had a sip of whatever was in the warden's bottle, and it looked like that was a good thing. Evy started getting drunk after just two sips. She threw a punch at O'Connell and fell over into his arms, giggling like an idiot.

"Okay, time for another drink!" O'Connell said as they sat by the fire.

"Mr. O'Connell, don't you think she's had enough to drink?" Serena asked.

"Unlike my brother, dear, I know when to say no!" she slurred. She started to take a drink but Serena took the bottle from her. "Serena, darling, don't take it from me."

"I think you've had enough, Evy."

"You know, unlike your brother," O'Connell said as he touched her arm to keep her from doing anything violent, "you I just don't get."

"I know!" Evy answered, forgetting about the bottle. "You're wondering what's a place like me doing in a girl like this?"

"Something like that," Rick said.

Evy went on to explain about her family and heritage, though Serena was surprised she could even remember her own name at that point.

"I get your father, and I get your mother, and I get him, but what are you doing here?"

Evy's face turned angry and she tried to stand up but almost fell over. Rick had to struggle to keep her balanced as she stood. Serena stood up and held her arms as Evy just about tipped over. "I may not be an explorer, or an adventurer, or a treasure seeker, or a gunfighter, Mr. O'Connell, but I am proud of what I am!"

"And what is that?" he asked, trying not to laugh.

"I…am a librarian!" Serena sighed at her friend and gave a little chuckle. Evy fell on her knees in front of him. "And I am going to kiss you…Mr. O'Connell."

"Call me Rick," he said.

"Oh, oh, Rick."

"Um, Evy," Serena said as she went down to her level. "Why don't we head over to our tent, huh, and get some sleep so we can find that book tomorrow?"

Evy brushed her away and Serena cringed at what was to come. They two closed their eyes and drew closer and closer…and then Evy passed out into O'Connell's lap. Serena let out a small laugh. At least, that kiss didn't actually happen, or Evy would never live it down.

Rick looked at Serena sourly and she held her hands up defensively. "Not my fault you got her so drunk!"

"I just wanted her to loosen up a little! She's been so tight ever since we got on the ship!"

"Can you blame her? This hasn't really been a calm voyage!"

Rick didn't answer but looked at the sleeping girl, positioned awkwardly in his lap.

Serena smiled at her friend. She knew one thing: Serena Gardner was never going to get drunk!

"Oh, I've dreamt about this since I was a little girl!" Evy exclaimed as they began to open the sarcophagus. She didn't recall any of the events of last night, which for her, was probably a good thing. Rick had taken her and put her in her tent after she passed out and as far as she knew, that's where she fell asleep after taking a couple sips. As upset as Rick was that she didn't remember their little…connection, Serena knew it was best not to explain to her how she had acted.

Rick and Jonathon finally got the sarcophagus open and a big fresh mummy popped out, causing all of them to scream and jump three feet in the air.

"Oh, I hate it when those things do that!" Evy yelled.

The four of them looked at the mummy popping out of the sarcophagus. "Is he supposed to look like that?" Rick asked.

"No, I've never seen a mummy look like this before. He's still…still…"

"Juicy," a chorus of voices said.

"Yes. He must be more than 3000 years old and it looks as if he's still…decomposing." She looked at the fingernail marks on the coffin, realizing he had been buried alive and left a message that read "Death is only the beginning." They glanced at the mummy again and all of them became quite edgy about being in the room.

That night, Rick, Jonathon, Beni, and Serena were grouped once more around the campfire.

"Say, O'Connell," Henderson said as he walked toward them. He held up a beautiful small jar that looked incredibly expensive. "What do you think these babies will fetch back home?"

Serena frowned. "Must you always act like you're better than everyone else?"

"Sorry, do—…ahem…darlin'," he said. He took a seat next to her.

"We hear you boys found a nice gooey mummy!" Burns said.

"Congratulations! You know, if you dried that fellow out you could sell him for firewood!" all the Americans laughed. Serena rolled her eyes at their immaturity. Evelyn came up behind Serena and whispered in her ear, "The Egyptologist has the Book of the Dead!"

"What?"

"The Americans actually found it!"

"Jonathon's right! I say you take it as soon as he goes to sleep!"

Evy giggled and went to sit. Rick made Beni hop up from his seat, and Serena found it hysterical that it didn't take much for him to do so. Serena saw she was holding something that resembled a beetle and said it was a scarab skeleton that slowly ate the mummy inside the sarcophagus. She added that he suffered the Hom-dai which was the worst of all curses. Serena shuddered when she remembered her readings about the curse and how evil it was.

"You cold?" Henderson asked her.

"I guess it was just a little chill that came over me," she answered.

"Well, here." He took a small blanket and draped it over her shoulders.

"Thanks."

Everyone soon went to sleep in their tents and dozed off fast. Serena had a hard time falling asleep because every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was that mummy. After finally falling asleep, she awoke to the Egyptologist screaming at Evy, "NO! You mustn't read from the book!"

Serena saw that Evy had the Book of the Dead in hand and had obviously read its contents. She turned as she heard small noises and saw a massive wave of locusts heading their way!

"Run!" Rick shouted.

Henderson grabbed Serena's hand and ran off with her. "Come on, Serena! Run!"

They sprinted inside the tomb trying to get as far away from the locusts as possible. Henderson and Serena became separated in the confusion. Serena found that she was alone in the tunnels.

Frantically walking through all kinds of turns, looking for anyone, anyone at all, tears formed in her eyes. What if she was lost forever? The panic rose higher and higher inside her.

"Evy?" she whispered. "Rick?"

She started to round a corner when she felt herself roughly pulled back. She started to scream, but a man's hand clapped over her mouth and he made them lean against the wall. Serena heard unearthly footsteps and labored breathing walk by them as they remained unseen, hidden by the tomb walls. Whatever was walking, it sounded like paper that was being crumpled. The man waited for the thing, whatever it was, to pass by, then released Serena from his hold. She spun around and saw that it was the man from last night who had led the raid against their camp.

"What was that?" she asked shakily.

"The priest, Imhotep. He has risen from the dead, an event which we tried for years to prevent."

Serena was near tears. "I've lost everyone and now you say there's a dead man walking around?"

The man put his hands on her cheeks. "Do not be afraid. I promise I will get you out safely and reunited with your friends." He took her hand and started to lead her through the tunnels. "What is your name?"

"Serena. Serena Gardner."

"Pleased to meet you, although I wish it was under different circumstances. My name is Ardeth Bay."

They kept weaving through the tunnels trying to find anybody from their group. Serena suddenly heard someone moaning.

"Stop!" Serena whispered as she tugged on Ardeth's arm. She followed the noise and found an actual walking mummy! It took everything to stop herself from screaming. The thing was advancing towards someone, but she couldn't make out who it was.

Ardeth ran up to it and shouted something in Arabic. The mummy ran off further into the tunnels, but they both knew he was not gone.

Serena ran up to the someone and saw that it was the American, Burns! But seeing him made her want to throw up. His eyes and tongue had been cut out!

"Mr. Burns," she said quietly as she composed herself. "It's me, Serena."

"Serena," he tried to say, but it was just a garble of a word.

"It's alright, that thing is gone. It's okay." She took him and pulled him so that her arm was supporting his head and her other arm wrapped around his chest. "Ardeth, is he going to be okay?"

"As long as the creature does not get to him again."

"My eyes…" Burns mumbled.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. Come on, stand up." She took one arm and put it around her neck while Ardeth took the other and led them out of the tunnels. Two of Ardeth's…well…kind went up to Burns and took his arms. Ardeth and some of his other men went aimed guns at the exit and soon the group ran out.

"Evy!" Serena screamed as she ran up to her friend.

"Oh, Serena!" Evy cried, gathering her up in a tight hug. "We thought we'd lost you!"

"I told you to leave or die!" Ardeth said to everyone. "You refused. Now you may have killed us all! For you have unleashed the creature that we have feared for more than 3000 years!"

"Relax, I got him," Rick said calmly.

"No mortal weapon can kill this creature! He is not of this world!"

"He's right, Mr. O'Connell," Serena said. "We saw him walking, after…well…"

The two men from Ardeth's group brought forth Mr. Burns. The Americans ran up to him and laid him down.

"What did you do to him?" Henderson asked.

"We saved him. Saved him before the creature could finish his work. Now leave all of you quickly before he finishes you all. Yallah! Nimishi! We must now go on the hunt to try and find a way to kill him."

"I already told you I got him!" Rick said.

"Mr. O'Connell, I saw him walking! You didn't get him!"

"Know this," Ardeth said. "This creature is the bringer of death. He will never eat, he will never sleep, and he will never stop."

"Ardeth!" Serena called as he departed. "Thank you…for your help. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't been there."

"It was my pleasure."


	6. Back in Cairo

The group of mixed cultures left immediately back to Cairo as the horrible sound of howling echoed behind them. Serena couldn't help but keep checking over her shoulder, not only for the mummy, but in the hopes that Ardeth would be back. She felt herself strangely drawn to him and his mysteriousness. The trouble was she was also drawn to Henderson and she obviously couldn't have them both.

Now here she was, watching yet another heated discussion between Evy and Rick. Basically, Rick said he wasn't going to help put the mummy to rest, while Evy argued that both of them needed to do it. Rick retorted that he wasn't the one who awoke the mummy and left in anger.

"Don't worry, Evy," Serena said to the stewing woman. "I think we both know he's not really going to leave you."

"I'm not sure this time, Serena. He sounded pretty angry."

"Love triumphs all!" Oh, wow, did she really just say that?

Evy looked at her. "Serena…"

"I've seen the way he looks at you. He's not leaving."

"If you'll excuse me, I need to apparently find a way to put that creature back in his grave without O'Connell!"

"I'll help you!"

For the next half-hour, they researched everything they could from the loads of history books Evy had, but then both of them needed some air and a break from the thousands of words they had seen.

Evy took a book with her while Serena just went outside. She looked up at the sky and noticed that a storm was coming quickly.

Suddenly, a huge fireball was headed right towards her. She let out a scream before she felt her arm pulled roughly, nearly wrenching it out of its socket.

"Ardeth?" she exclaimed when she saw who her savior was. "How do you always appear at the right time?"

He didn't answer, but pulled her inside a building to safety. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, thanks to you."

He touched her soft hair. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Every time I see you, you're in some kind of life-and-death situation."

"Trust me, I wouldn't be if it were my choice."

"It has begun."

"What has?"

"The plagues of Egypt are coming. He's here."

"You mean the mummy from Hamunaptra?"

"Yes. It will be safer for you if you stay here."

"Ardeth, wait!" she shouted as she ran after him. She looked at him with wild fear in her eyes.

He looked back at her with those beautiful brown eyes of his. "I will keep you safe."

Ardeth left before he could explain any further. Serena, against his wishes, went up to find Evy. She heard a loud scream and a deep howl and ran up to where it had come from: Mr. Burns' room. She met Evy and Rick at the door and they all burst in. Evy and Serena gasped at the sight they beheld. Mr. Burns was now a dry, disgusting corpse, everything making him human gone.

The creature stood by the fireplace, and Serena noticed that he looked not as mummified as before. That was why he literally sucked the life out of the poor man! Rick started trying to shoot him, but the thing threw Rick across the room and went up to Evy, who took Serena's hand tightly. It looked like he was about to kiss her, which was gross, but the sight of a cat made him turn into sand and fly away. Serena was not sure she believed what she just saw.

"We are in very serious trouble," Rick said.

No kidding.

The group, minus Mr. Burns, went to the curator's office as Evy was sure that Dr. Bey could help them. Serena wasn't so sure about that, but Evy had known him longer.

They burst into the room and saw Ardeth talking to the curator.

"You!" Evy exclaimed.

"Ms. Carnahan, Ms. Gardner, gentlemen."

The men whipped out their guns and aimed at the two men.

"Ardeth, what are you doing here?" Serena asked. Everyone looked at her, surprised that she was on first-name basis with this guy.

"Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to just shoot us?" Dr. Bey asked.

The men explained that the creature was Imhotep, the high priest to Pharaoh Seti I. Dr. Bey was part of the society Ardeth was part of: the Medjai. The creature was scared of cats because they were guardians of the Underworld, and he would fear them until he was completely human. He regenerated by sucking the life out of everyone who opened the chest. As if it couldn't get any worse, apparently Imhotep was in love with someone called Anck-su-namun, and in order to bring her to life, he needed a human sacrifice: Evy.

"We need all the help we can get," Ardeth said darkly. "His powers are growing." The world turned dark as an eclipse started.

Serena unknowingly went for a hand she thought was Evy's, but it ended up being Ardeth's. They looked at each other with fear, but there was something else. There was comfort.

Back in the supposed safety of Evy's room, everyone put heads together to try and figure out how to stop this creature. They learned that all the Americans and the Egyptologist had opened the chest, but Beni had run away before they opened it.

"Alright," Evy said. "We must find the Egyptologist and bring him back to the safety of the fort before the creature can get to him."

"The girls stay here, you three come with me," Rick said. That was met with protests from everyone. Evy wanted to be part of the action while the Americans wanted nothing to do with it. Serena just wanted to be safe wherever she ended up staying.

"O'CONNELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" Evy screamed as he picked her up and threw her on the bed in her room.

"Do I need to do the same to you?" he forcefully asked Serena. She quickly shook her head as he locked the door. "She doesn't come out, no one goes in, right?

"Right!" Daniels answered quickly.

Rick and Jonathon left with Evy's protests and knocks on the door ringing out behind them. 

The three sat around, Evy's banging on the door finally subsiding. Serena wanted to help her friend, but knew that O'Connell was just trying to keep her safe from Imhotep.

"I'm so bored," Henderson said.

"Me too," Serena answered. "I don't know which is worse, sitting here bored out of my mind wondering what Rick and Jonathon are doing, or being scared out of my wits while actually helping them."

"At least a walking mummy isn't after you. We gotta get out of here!"

"I'm sorry about your boat."

"Not your fault, darlin'."

"I'm heading downstairs for a bit. I just have to get out of this room!" She walked to the door and turned to look at the two men. "Be careful."

Serena stayed down there longer than she thought and soon Daniels came up beside her and ordered a couple drinks. "Hey there."

"Hi, Mr. Daniels."

"You've been down here awhile. You alright?"

"I guess I just have a lot on my mind. I'm going to go back up. If Evy finds a way out, I'm not so sure Mr. Henderson could handle her," she tried to laugh. It was hard to be funny when there was so much at stake.

She started walking back to the room slowly and saw Rick and Jonathon running into the room.

"Jonathon! O'Connell!" Serena called. "What's going on?"

"No time, love! We need to get to Evy! Imhotep killed the Egyptologist and now he's after her!" Jonathon shouted.

They reached the bottom of the stairs when they heard the sound of someone screaming. "No," Serena whispered, knowing who that was. Rick and Jonathon got to Evy's room before she did and as she approached she could hear Rick yell, "Get your ugly face off of her!", and then an unearthly scream. She paused at the door to catch her breath and then walked in. There on the floor laid the dried-out body of Henderson.

She gasped as she put both of her hands over her mouth and ran up to the piece of rotten flesh. His mouth was open in a ghostly way and he looked like a skeleton.

"No!" she screamed as tears started streaming down her face. "NO!" She touched his face and it felt like paper in her hands. She started screaming and crying as she took his head and laid it in her lap, stroking his hair. She didn't even care that he looked so horrible. This was someone she had had feelings for, someone she had been close to, admired his personality.

She was aware of Rick and Jonathon and Evy looking at her sadly. Evy ran up to her and took her in her arms and cradled her, almost like a baby. Serena clutched onto her tightly as she continued to sob.


	7. The Ritual

"Yes well, according to legend, the black book that the Americans found at Hamunaptra, is supposed to bring people back from the dead," Evy said in the museum. The group had met up with Dr. Bey and Ardeth and now Evy was trying to piece together how to kill Imhotep. She knew that if the Book of the Dead brought him to life, then the Book of the Living could kill him.

She looked at the ancient words written upon a piece of stone set up in the museum.

"According to Bembridge Scholars, the golden book of Amun-ra is located inside the statue of Anubis."

"That's where we found the black book," Daniels said.

They realized that the Bembridge scholars mixed up where the books had been hidden. Evy kept reading the tablet and tried to figure out where the gold book was hidden.

"Come on, Evy, faster!" Jonathon urged.

"Patience is a virtue," she answered in a sing-song voice.

"Not right now it isn't!" Rick said as he saw the throngs of Imhotep's slaves come after them. They were covered in boils and sores, the last plague.

Jonathon took off to go get their car as Evy finished reading the tablet. "I've got it!" she exclaimed. "The golden book of Amun-ra is at Hamunaptra inside the statue of Horus! Take that, Bembridge Scholars!"

"We'll celebrate later!" Serena said as she took her hand and they all ran out to go make their getaway and get to Hamunaptra before Imhotep stopped them. The "slaves" ran after them at Imhotep's command and some started to actually climb into the car. Two of them latched onto Serena's neck and arms.

"Ardeth!" she choked out. "Help me!"

He turned to look at her and fought off the diseased people. Once they had been pried off her neck, Serena started coughing and taking in deep breaths of air. "Thank you," she breathed.

Daniels wasn't so lucky. So many people grabbed him and he ended up falling out of the car. Serena watched as Imhotep approached him, and though she didn't see it, she knew what happened next.

The car ended up going out of control at the massive amount of people swarming it and they crashed into a big fountain. They all hopped out and got backed up into a corner. Ardeth grabbed Serena protectively as he warded off the people with a torch.

Imhotep approached them with Beni by his side. No wonder he had killed all those people so easily! Beni was helping him!

"It's the creature," Dr. Bey remarked. "He's fully regenerated."

Imhotep said something to Evy in Arabic.

"Come with me, my princess," Beni translated. "It is time to make you mine forever."

"'For all eternity', idiot," Evy answered sharply.

Imhotep said something else, and Beni added, "Take my hand and I will spare your friends."

"Oh, dear," Evy said quietly. "Anyone got any bright ideas?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Rick answered.

"You better think of something fast. Because if he turns me into a mummy, you're the first one I'm coming after."

Serena watched in horror as Evy began to walk toward him. "No!" she shouted and stepped in front of her after wrenching herself out of Ardeth's grasp.

"Serena, no," Evy said.

Serena looked at her with pleading eyes and then back at Imhotep. "She's not going without me."

Imhotep looked her up and down and came up to her. He touched her cheek and Serena wanted to scream.

"I may have use for you," he said. "Bring her."

Serena clutched Evy's hand as O'Connell whipped out his gun and aimed at Imhotep.

"Don't!" Evy cried. "He has to take me to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual!"

"She's right," Ardeth said. "Live today, fight tomorrow."

He and Serena made eye contact. He looked fearful for her while her eyes begged him to do something even though she knew she had put herself in this position.

"I'll be seeing you again," O'Connell said sharply.

Imhotep walked off with the two girls in tow as Beni grabbed the key from Jonathon. Imhotep said something that made Evy go berserk and demand to be let go.

"What did he say?" Serena yelled.

"He's going to kill them!"

"No! Ardeth!"

"Rick!"

Imhotep turned into sand and whisked them away, leaving them wondering if the men were dead.

No one knew how long they were in the sand. It could've been hours or days. All Serena knew was that it was a really long time before they finally landed in the middle of the desert. Evy collapsed beside her with Beni following on top of Evy.

"Get off of me!" Evy screamed. "Get off!"

"I need a new job," Beni mumbled.

"You're the one who signed on for this!" Serena cried.

Imhotep materialized form the sand and walked past them.

"We're back," Evy whispered as they looked to the city of Hamunaptra.

"I certainly didn't think I'd ever see this place again…nor did I ever want to!" Serena said.

They heard a plane buzz over them and it was close enough so they could see the passengers.

"O'Connell," Evy said, smiling.

Serena looked at the poor people strapped on the wings of the plane. "Ardeth!"

Imhotep faced a huge expansion of land and all of a sudden a huge sandstorm erupted from the ground!

"He really likes that sand, doesn't he?" Serena said to Evy.

Imhotep made the sand literally swallow up the plane. They could see that the plane was driving completely blind. "Stop it! You'll kill them!" Evy screamed.

"That's the idea," Beni said as he looked on.

Serena looked at him and punched him on the face, extremely hard. "I am so fed up with you and your snide little comments! If it wasn't for you, neither of us would be here, and the guy that I may or may not have loved might still be alive!" she screamed to him as he lay on the ground.

Evy went up to Imhotep as he concentrated on the sand wall. In order to distract him, she did the only thing she knew would work. She kissed him hard and full on the lips. Serena knew it was necessary because the sand all collapsed and the plane survived, but it was still really, really gross!

Evy let go of him as she realized the sand was gone, and Imhotep looked in horror at how his trick had been ruined. The plane ended up spurting and making noises, and Serena realized that too much sand had gotten into the engine. The plane went down into the sand with a boom. There was no fire, so Serena knew they were alive, but that didn't mean they could be saved from where they were. There was too much distance between them. It hurt Serena to know that Ardeth was so close, but she still couldn't get to him.

"Come on," Evy said as she took Serena's hand. "Don't worry. They'll make it."

Serena wasn't so sure anymore. She wished she was there with Ardeth to help find Evy, but she didn't want to leave Evy alone either. Oh, she just wanted to be two places at once!

Imhotep led them into Hamunaptra and into the tunnels once more.

"This is where Ardeth and I first met," Serena said to Evy. "How romantic, right?"

"Well, Mr. O'Connell and I first met when he was in prison."

"Very true."

Beni pushed the two girls and ordered them to keep moving.

Evy looked at him angrily. "You know, nasty little fellows such as yourself always get their comeuppance."

Beni just laughed and then turned serious. "…They do?"

"Oh, yes. Always." And she walked away.

Serena giggled. "You know, I think you really scared him."

They reached a wall with people on them in the classic Egyptian pose. Suddenly, they heard a gunshot.

"O'Connell!"

"Ardeth!"

Imhotep took some dust and blew it onto the wall, said something in Arabic, and the people on the wall literally got off and started moving!

"Bembridge scholars never wrote about this!" Evy said.

"I don't think anyone's ever written about this!" Serena answered.

Imhotep commanded the people to do something, most likely kill the intruders and something else. "The ritual begins now," he said, looking at Evy. Beni held her arms and Imhotep back-handed her. She fell into a heap on the floor.

"Evy!" Serena screamed as she touched her cheek and lightly slapped it. "Why did you do that?" she yelled at Imhotep.

He smiled at her and blew some dust into her face that was different than before. Serena watched her world turn dark. She felt herself fall into Imhotep's arms, but if it had been her choice, she much rather would've fallen on the floor.


	8. City of Love

Serena awoke and blinked to adjust her eyes. She attempted to move her arms and found they were tied behind her. She watched as Imhotep shackled Evy onto a stone slab next to an extremely decomposed mummy, which she presumed to be Anck-su-namun. Boy, Serena guessed that the woman was pretty in life because now…not so much!

Evy slowly came to, only to find a big rat on her stomach and then the corpse beside her. Obviously, she screamed loudly.

"Serena?" she screamed.

"Evy! I'm over here!" Serena yelled back.

Corpses surrounded the slab bowing and chanting as Imhotep approached it, carrying the Book of the Dead. Wherever the guys were, they needed to hurry! Evy didn't have much time left, and who knew what was going to happen to Serena?

Imhotep caressed the dead corpse on the table. "O'Connell! Jonathon!" Evy screamed.

"Ardeth!"

Imhotep read something from the book, and black mist and goo came out of a nearby pool and floated to the corpse. Suddenly, the corpse came alive with an ear-piercing shriek.

Imhotep took a big, shiny sword and approached Evy. "With your death, Anck-su-namun shall live, and I shall be invincible!" He raised the sword as Serena and Evy screamed.

"Evy!"

Serena looked up and saw Jonathon standing at the top of the stairs that led out of the room. She had never been so happy to see him.

"I've found it, Evy, I've found it!" He raised the Book of the Amun-ra above his head.

"Shut up, and get me off of here, Jonathon!" Evy cried. She told him to open the book, but Jonathon said he needed the key, which had to be in Imhotep's robes.

Rick jumped onto the table and broke one of Evy's shackles. Serena watched as a battle ensued between him and several corpses. In the process he cut off the chains on Evy's feet. Then he went to go break Evy's other chain, but a mummy pulled him down. He was about to be crushed, but his quick thinking allowed him to stop the mummies.

Serena knew they were preoccupied, but she still wished someone would come cut her ropes. Just as she finished thinking that, she felt her arms go slack. She looked to see who cut them and it was Ardeth!

"Ardeth!" For the first time, she was able to see all of him. He had beautiful black hair that reached past his chin and another tattoo on his forehead.

He put his finger to lips, motioning for her to be quiet. She took the ropes off her wrists and went to go help Evy off the sacrificial table. She managed to break the other shackle and free her friend.

"What do we do?" she asked frantically. Even more mummies that looked like guards came after them.

"Do something, Jonathon," Evy said.

"Me?"

"You can command them!"

"You've got to be joking!"

"Finish the inscription on the cover, idiot, then you can control them!"

Jonathon took a look and the cover and attempted to finish translating it. Rick and Serena got attacked by the mummy guards and Anck-su-namun went after Evy. Serena figured out that if Anck-su-namun killed Evy, then she would live and Imhotep would not be able to die. This was bad on so many levels! Serena grabbed a spear in the room and armed herself. She surprised herself when she saw how well she was able to fight the mummy guards. Just when she thought she was safe, she felt her leg pulled and the spear slipped out of her grasp. She turned around and saw one of the mummies pulling her towards it.

"AHHH! ARDETH!"

Ardeth appeared and cut off the mummy's arm. It stayed on her leg and had a firm hold.

"Stay still!" Ardeth yelled to the squirming girl. He helped her pry off the arm and Serena gave him a tight hug.

"I knew you would make it," she said.

"I must leave now. There are others coming after you all and the Medjai must stop them."

He turned to leave, but Serena called after him. He ran up to her and gave her a passionate kiss. He then ran off once more to defeat the other mummies. Serena blinked a few times, disbelieving that that had really just happened. She touched her tingling lips and let out a small smile.

"I can't figure out this last symbol!" Jonathon yelled.

"What does it look like?" Evy yelled back as she ran from Anck-su-namun.

"It's a bird! A stork!"

Anck-su-namun choked Evy as she tried to plunge the blade into her. "A-Amenophus!"

The guard mummies ran up to O'Connell and threw their knives, spears, and swords on him. Just as they were about to kill him amidst Serena's screams, Jonathon finished the inscription and the swords stopped at the last millisecond. They were actually touching his face, but no blood was drawn. They released the swords and faced Jonathon, ready for their orders.

Imhotep screamed for them to kill the people, but he did not control them anymore.

"Fa-kooshka, Anck-su-namun!" Jonathon ordered. The mummies marched up to the corpse trying to kill Evy and just as she was about to put the blade into Evy, the guards took all of their weapons and re-killed the mummy.

Imhotep screamed her name and ran to Jonathon, threatening to kill him. Before he could do so, Rick chopped off his arm. Imhotep, after throwing Rick across the room, simply took it and screwed it back on, a sight that made Serena sick to her stomach.

"Evy, I've got it!" Jonathon said triumphantly, holding the key in his hand.

Jonathon held the book in his arms and Evy stuck the key in it and opened it. "Keep him busy!" she yelled to Rick.

"No problem," he answered weakly.

Serena watched him getting beaten to a pulp, so she knew she had to go help him. "Hey, Imhotep!" she shouted. "I helped kill Anck-su-namun! Your princess is gone forever!"

"Serena, don't!" Rick yelled. Imhotep looked at her with such rage and fury, it made her stomach flop. He started towards her and she started running as fast as she could. It didn't matter because he easily caught up to her and threw her across the ground. She landed on her back and the wind was stolen from her. He walked towards her again, but Rick grabbed him before he could get to her.

"Hurry, Evy!" Serena and Jonathon said.

"You're not helping!" she said in her sing-song voice.

Imhotep grabbed Rick's throat and opened his mouth wide. Serena knew what he was doing! He was going to suck Rick dry just like he did Henderson! The thought made her blood boil. She screamed and ran up to Imhotep and jumped onto his back, clawing at his face. He managed to throw her off and began to choke her when Evy yelled, "I've got it! Kadeesh mal! Kadeesh mal! Pared oos! Pared oos!"

Just as Serena started to turn a shade of blue, Imhotep released her and she ran into the safety of Evy's arms as a ghostly image of Egyptians in a chariot swept through Imhotep. A spirit version of him was carried away by the ghosts, screaming and trying to get away.

"I thought you said it was gonna kill him!" Rick shouted as he stumbled back.

Imhotep ran up to O'Connell, determined to kill him, when Rick shoved a sword into Imhotep's stomach. Imhotep looked confused at the pain and the sight of blood.

"He's mortal," Evy stated.

Rick pulled the sword out and Imhotep held his wound and fell back into the slimy pool. His skin started to mummify again and Serena direly wanted to look away, but couldn't. His tongue and eyes disappeared, or rather Burns' eyes and tongue, and he said his final words in Ancient Egyptian: "Death is only the beginning."

Serena knew that this was not over.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently and the ceilings started to come down.

"Time to go!" O'Connell shouted. He grabbed Evy's hand, while Jonathon grabbed Serena's. He tripped and the book fell into the pool.

"You lost the book!" Evy screamed. "Jonathon, I can't believe—"

They all grabbed her and moved her along, knowing time was short. They ran into the room filled with treasure and this time Jonathon paused. "Couldn't we just—"

"No!" they all shouted as they grabbed him like they did Evy. The ceilings of rock were closing fast and Serena heard a voice behind her.

"O'Connell!" She turned and saw Beni trying to catch up with them. But even though O'Connell urged him to hurry, there was too much distance and the walls closed, splitting the pair forever.

"Good-bye, Beni."

"I told him he would get his comeuppance!" Evy laughed as they kept running. They finally made it out of the tomb and pillars and sand were crashing everywhere. Serena almost got hit by a pillar, but O'Connell managed to pull her away. Finally safe, they turned and surveyed the damage. Hamunaptra was no more. And after what they'd been through in the past few days, that was probably a good thing!

Suddenly, Jonathon screamed which caused all of them to jump and scream too. They looked and saw that it was just Ardeth and his fellow Medjai.

Jonathon gasped trying to catch his breath.

"You have earned the respect and gratitude of me and my people," Ardeth said.

"Yes, well, it was nothing," Jonathon answered.

Ardeth hopped down from his camel and hugged Serena. "I am so glad to see you are safe."

"You too."

"Well, I guess we go home, empty-handed…again," Jonathon complained.

"I wouldn't say that," Rick said and after so long, he finally kissed Evy in a silent proclamation of their love.

"Oh, please," Jonathon sighed. Serena laughed.

"Alright, Evy, you ride with me, Serena you can ride with Jonathon," Rick said as he prepared to board the camel.

"Um," Serena said. "The thing is, I'm going with him."

"What?" Evy exclaimed. "But we're finally safe. Come with us."

"Don't worry, Evy. I'm sure we'll see each other again. After all, your curiosity is what got us into this mess, and I don't think you're going to be able to resist the temptations again."

Evy grabbed her friend and squeezed her tightly.

"I told you O'Connell liked you and wasn't going to leave," Serena whispered in her ear. Evy playfully hit her once more and looked at her sadly. "I promise, we will meet again. And Ardeth and I will always be there to help you, with whatever you manage to get yourself into next!"

"We'll be seeing you 'round, Serena," Rick said as he gave her a light hug.

Rick and Evy boarded their camel as did Jonathon. Ardeth climbed onto his and helped Serena up in front of him.

"Good-bye, my friends!" Serena said.

"Bye, Serena!" a chorus of voices rang out. Ardeth started going in the other direction and he and Serena shared a beautiful, passionate kiss. It was so much more romantic now that no mummies were after them. Serena turned and looked at the group departing. She saw a glimmer from the sun and she and Ardeth made eye contact.

"Was that…?"

"Seti's treasure?"

They both laughed joyously and shared another kiss. And to think that all of this started because Serena wanted a job in a museum. And now she was going to become a Medjai, just one more step in the fantastic adventure she called life.


End file.
